Birds of a Featherton
by CUTstudi0ss
Summary: The Cogs have taken over Toontown, and only one team of trusted Toons can stop them. But, can teams with trust really triumph? Or, will trust be what makes them tumble down? Find out in this work-in-progress epic that will later be turned into a feature film. 13-plus for violence and darker themes.
1. Prologue

"Alright, time for bed, Johnny," Mother said, closing the book.

"Aww, come on, really? I want to hear more! You can't just leave me at a cliffhanger!" Johnny blurted out. Mother just chuckled.

"Another chapter for another night." Mother said soothingly, her voice as smooth as butter.

"All right, fine... good night, Mother," Johnny grumbled, pulling the sheets over his neck. Mother got up from her rocking chair and walked towards the door. She turned her head for one last look at him and then flicked the light switch down. She gently closed the door, removing any traces of light from the adjacent hallway.

 _So many questions... but so few answers,_ Johnny thought to himself. _Maybe the answers will never be known..._ With that thought, he had given up on the possible answers of tonight's chapter. He succumbed to his heavy eyes drooping down and went to sleep.

Johnny woke on a cold, hard floor. The surrounding area here was pitch black. You couldn't really see much, other than the expanding blackness that signaled a huge space, and everything was silent.

"How is our investment?" a deep, metallic voice boomed from behind Johnny, breaking the chilly silence and making Johnny whirl around to face it; it's speech echoed across the room. It was a giant figure that looked like a Toon with exaggerated features, although it sounded like a robot... maybe it was...?

"Don't worry Boss." Another, organic voice started from Johnny's original direction. It was quite a short figure, with what looked like a rather large hat being worn, and he sounded a lot like a mob boss you'd see in old noir films, except a bit higher pitched. He must be a Toon; there was no electronic residue in his voice.

"Operation D. Skies is going smoothly," The mob boss Toon assured. "In a few minutes, they'll be in full swing and ready to ship out. And who knows? We might finally use our new and improved 'Positive Reinforcement" on da candydates." The mob boss Toon walked over to the third figure. "Of course, I can't forget dat all dis wouldn't be possible wit'out our good ol' genius friend who made us all this. You made us somethin' we needed, but now, we have no need for you." The mob boss voice chortled.

"W-what do you mean? I-I don't know what you're talking about..." A more normal voice wavered from the taller figure, emitting a nervous laugh.

"We weasels are pretty smart... we already, eh... reverse-engineered da invention you made. There's no need for you or your blueprints anymore. And besides, they're better than yours will ever be. Speaking of us being better than you..." There was a metallic click, kind of like when you pull down on the hammer of a revolver...!

"N-no! Please! I'm a good toon! Don't kill me! I'm of use to you! Please don't-" The... professor yelled, now on his knees.

"Say goodbye to Gearloose for me..." The mob boss cackled. As Johnny looked away, there was a loud bang that briefly lit up the room with a green glow, and time seemed to slow down. From what he could see, Johnny could make out an expansive laboratory with a conveyor belt at one side that appeared to be mass-producing... figures of some sort. What they could be? Next to it, a podium with broken buttons and dials on it was emitting sparks and smoke; a possible control panel to the machine that somebody didn't want stopped.

When Johnny turned his head back, the professor was slumped on the cold, hard floor, not moving.

Suddenly, the professor emitted a green glow that lit up a general area, and, with a small pop, vanished like he was nothing, taking the glow with him, returning the surrounding area to darkness.

"Good... when will they be ready, Lieutenant?" The deep, robotic-sounding voice praised.

"I told you already, they'll be ready in a few minutes, Boss," The lieutenant replied. The darkness seemed to lift a little bit to reveal a long, brown snout ending in an olive-shaped nose, right in front of Johnny's face. The snout had a mouth with 2 rows of sharp, yellow teeth. Johnny could also make out the brim of a hat, but it didn't appear to have any color. _Why can't he see me?_ Johnny wondered; he was already close enough to smell the weasel's stinking breath that made him gag.

"And when they're ready... all hell will break loose." The mouth smiled a coy, but sinister smile, and seemed to stare directly at Johnny, making his heart skip several beats with terror.

"Perfect... my army is almost ready. Now that they're in the suits, they will be invincible. I will give the order when all of them are finished, which should be any moment now. We're running a little behind schedule, but no matter; they're probably wasting time with unnecessary pre-show events anyway." The robot walked away, his metallic footsteps pounding on the floor. He paused, and turned back around.

"One more thing. Did you capture that McDuck character that just so happened to intrude on our... experiment, and douse him with our Positive Reinforcement?" The robotic figure asked.

"Yep and yep. He vanished like he wasn't there, boss." The weasel boss replied nonchalantly, twirling his revolver.

"Excellent. I'll arrange for you to be richly rewarded." The robotic figure turned to the now finished line of suited figures, standing there perfectly still. The weasel boss suddenly looked uncomfortable, which, from what Johnny assumed, was a very rare occasion based on what just happened.

"Boss?" He nervously asked. "Can I ask you somethin'?"

"What is it? Do you wish to know what you'll be rewarded with?" The robotic figure didn't move to face him. "Because if so, you will only know immediately after every other Toon in Toontown is destroyed."

"It's not dat, I just wanna know..." The robotic figure now turned it's head. "What if... some Toon manages to kill them all? We'd run out of firepower."

"That's preposterous. No Toon could get through the metal lining of these suits even if they tried. And the control panel for the machine has been destroyed; nobody can stop this process now. However, if things could go wrong, then all we would need to do is just produce more. We have an infinite number of resources; we'd take the remains of our brothers and use them to create new ones. Ingenious, I say."

"Seems a bit morbid to me, but all right... oh, I think we're done." The weasel boss pointed at the rows upon rows of suited figures standing behind the conveyor belt.

"Perfect. Come here, W-00001." A brown-suited figure with broad shoulders and a huge, stationary smile walked forward.

"Your mission is simple: fly to Toontown Central and introduce yourself to the new leader of Toontown. When the time is right, your supervisor, the Director of Ambush Marketing, will give you the signal to use the Positive Reinforcement. We will send in backup to eliminate the witnesses once you do so. Do not fail me."

"Yes, sir." W-00001 affirmed, it's smile solid as a rock as it spoke.

"Go!" The robotic voice boomed, it's metallic clang ringing across the lab and into Johnny's ears.

It was at this point that Johnny sat up in bed, now wide awake, his heart going a million miles an hour. Johnny had had nightmares before, but none this vivid. He checked the clock on the nightstand next to he bed: **4:19 AM.** He tried lying back down, but he couldn't. His pillow felt like a brick, the mattress like concrete, and the sheets like sandpaper. His entire body wanted to get out of his bedroom and look for the professor, but he needed to be quiet.

He slowly shifted out of the twin bed, his webbed feet gently landing on the carpeted floor. He changed into his Toon Scouts uniform that was in his dresser, knowing he would be out for a while, and took a deep breath.

He tiptoed toward the door, dancing around the various things scattered around the bedroom floor. He reached the door, gently turning the doorknob. When he pulled the door open, it creaked more than he wanted to, but apparently (and extremely luckily), Mother didn't notice, because there was no trace of her yelling at him to get back in bed. Maybe she just had the covers up over her head; it was quite cold in the house... but whatever; it was a lucky break.

Like the feathers on his body, his feet barely made a sound against the hardwood floor as he gingerly walked down the hall. Down the stairs he went to grab a flashlight from the utility closet under them, and he was ready to go. Johnny had only left the house a few times during his life for anything other than schoolwork, but only during the day. This was to be a whole new experience for him, and he wasn't quite sure if he was ready.

 _No, the professor is waiting for me_ , Johnny reminded himself, shaking away his fear. He breathed in a deep breath, and opened the surprisingly unlocked front door. _I suppose Mother forgot to lock this_ , Johnny thought absentmindedly, taking one of his rare steps outside of the house, and his first without his mother's consent.

Johnny had never seen his neighborhood in the middle of the night; all of the windows shed no light, and the sun was not up yet. It was a new moon, so there wasn't any light to illuminate the streets; quite scary for a thirteen-year old who barely knew what the other side of his front door looked like. Speaking of his front door, Johnny idiotically left the door wide open, and hastily went to close it, and then turned to gawk at the ever-so-slowly paling night sky, the faint glimmer of milky white stars still hidden away by various clouds.

 _Hey, Copernicus, save the stargazing for later, we've got saving to do!_ Johnny's subconscious slapped him back into reality. Now the tough part would be actually locating the professor's lab. Then he realized he was running blind, both figuratively and literally; he had no idea where it would be, until a familiar name flashed in his mind: _Doctor Surlee._ He had heard the doctor of science's name somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where; possibly the television. But he did remember an old interview he had watched when he was younger, which showed an under-construction house sitting on top of a hill.

Now that he had an idea of where it would be, he could actually see if he was correct, although it would take some experimentation: the house that overlooked Johnny's own house.

Johnny had seen the hilltop house before; after all, it was one of the only things Johnny saw outside his bedroom window, other than a rather unusually placed willow tree that blocked most of the view. It wasn't run-down, yet it wasn't lavish either; it looked like any other suburban house that Johnny had seen many times on the way back from school.

And yet it seemed the perfect candidate to hold the dark secrets that Johnny only saw in his dreams. Something about it's normality disturbed a feeling lodged deep in Johnny's subconscious, a feeling that prompted him to investigate further. It was the kind of house that looked like it didn't have anything to hide, but in reality was sweeping something huge under the rug. He would solve the mystery of his dream, whether it was fictional or not, and this would be the perfect place to start; the scene of the crime depicted in his dream.

Johnny suddenly realized he was still staring at the night sky like a fool who had seen something rather amusing; in this case, it was rather mundane. He had to get a move-on before it was too late; after all, being late to anything tarnishes both your experience and the host's experience.

It was like he was sleepwalking and had only just now woke up; he found himself near the base of the hill already without even realizing he had moved. His bleary yet lucid state would not help him in the climb up, nor in the break-in that would be required for this mission.

After a moment's hesitation, he started to walk towards the point where the incline slowly rose. He tripped over a couple of raised cobblestones as he passed, whispering some humdrum comments as he did. The sloped surface that wasn't a flight of stairs threw Johnny off balance, and almost made him fall backwards a few times, but he managed to regain his center of gravity quite quickly each time.

Johnny triumphantly managed to make it to the top of the hill, and wasn't surprised about the house that lay before him, but he couldn't wait to get started. He had this to himself, and now was the time to strike.

He walked up to the birch front door and raised a fist to knock, but then thought better of it almost immediately. You wouldn't knock at the front door of a police station if you were a wanted criminal, so the same logic would apply here. However, this logic would require an alternative means of entryway.

He had heard some faint noises coming from the back of the house, and went to investigate. To his sheer luck, he had already found another entryway in the form of oak bulkhead doors, but they were restrained by a thick rope. Johnny, being a Toon Scout, pulled out his Swiss Cheese knife that had saved in him one of multiple situations; one being for an important arts and crafts assignment that saved him from repeating 4th grade, another for simply scratching one of the worst back itches Johnny had.

It took only a few minutes before the knot that locked the doors in place was no more, and Johnny was allowed access. After another deep breath, he opened the slightly creaking doors and alighted down the stairs that yawned before him.

He was greeted with the pungent odor of iodine and rubbing alcohol, along with the searing red light of a spotlight. As he narrowed his eyes to shield them from the blinding bloody light, he noticed a clothesline that took up most of the room that was hanging negatives. He was in a darkroom; an unexpected room, but the professor must be a Toon you don't expect.

Then Johnny realized, _if this is a darkroom, then there's bound to be blueprints somewhere._ Now giddy with excitement and furtiveness, he searched along the line for anything that resembled something in his dream- nuts. There were pictures of various brands of peanut butter being displayed; Panter's, Flippy's, Sniff... but why? Doctor Surlee was a man of science, wasn't he? Maybe he was having one of those "midlife crises" that Johnny had overheard Mother mumbling about.

Johnny had almost given up; he had put his hands on the table under the negatives, and he noticed a blue paper underneath the piles of paper with a mixture of printed text and frantic, barely intelligible handwritten notes. It had to be something. Careful not to rip it, Johnny instead decided to move the piles of paper weighing down on it.

He noticed a paper start to slip off the top of the stack, and, as Johnny idiotically tried to stop it from slipping, he ended up dropping the entire stack, making a loud racket that made him cringe with panic. Quickly, he looked around to see if anybody heard, then took a glance at the blueprints before anything else happened.

It was a muscular bipedal figure, with what appeared to be two faces looking left and right, one jolly and one stern-

Suddenly, a light flooded the room that battled with the red; white light. White light that betrayed the location of a shadow of a figure. Someone was home, and closing in fast. Johnny had to go now, or risk being caught. If Doctor Surlee had a fireplace, then Johnny's backside would be hanging above it. He eyed the still open bulkhead doors, the open early morning air still longing for Johnny to return.

Frantically, Johnny scrambled outside, skating across loose piles of paper along the way, sending them up into the air. He breathed in clean, natural breezes for the first time in what felt like half an hour, but was really 2 minutes. As he ran away, he glanced back at the bulkhead doors to see if anybody was on the chase.

Blinded by the rising sun in his face as he turned his head back, Johnny ran towards the point where he found the house. In his panic to get away, he forgot that he had climbed up a hill to reach his destination, and ended up tumbling downhill, the cobblestone path giving a checkerboard pattern in terms of bruises.

As he settled at the bottom, he struggled to get up, but managed to find his footing. Lumbering back home, Johnny gently opened and closed the front door, and tiptoed up the stairs. He opened the door to his room, not even caring if Mother heard. If he needed an explanation, he could just say he went to the bathroom before going back to bed. He checked the time on his clock again: **5:20 AM**. One hour and one minute; good enough for him.

As he flopped back into bed, his mind whirled with enlightening revelations and mysterious questions about Doctor Surlee and the dream. If he saw the suits completed in his dream, then why was Doctor Surlee still designing them? Was the professor in the dream really Doctor Surlee? Why was the lab not a lab, but a darkroom?

 _So many questions... but so few answers,_ Johnny thought to himself. _Maybe the answers will never be known..._ With that thought, he had given up on the possible answers of the dream. He succumbed to his heavy eyes drooping down, and went to sleep.


	2. Chapter 1 - Doomsday

**5 Years Later**

 _"This just in! The Toon Presidential Elections start tomorrow; who will win? Who will lo-"_

The cheesy tone of the news reporter was cut off by static, also known as a channel change. Johnny was laid back on the chaise lounge in his room, watching the ridiculous bug-themed television that his mother had bought him when he was 12, citing, "Oh, but it's just so adorable!" Being 18 now, he still cherished the gift, even though he had a massive 70 inch flatscreen for his video games that he bought himself, yet never used. The dust on its screen was still quite undisturbed, even for being in a busy part of Johnny's room.

His room lay in a similar condition except for his queen-sized bed, it's four posts from each point of it's rectangular configuration rising to the near top of the ceiling and stopping before they made contact. He had a trophy cabinet filled with various knickknacks and old trophies he had acquired from middle school; these included an archery target with an arrow hitting a bullseye that also split another arrow in the exact same place, a proud (and insanely lucky) accomplishment that Johnny bragged about in archery club. Yes, those were good times...

Johnny realized he was still watching TV, but the channel now was a blue rabbit named Flapjack exposing various theories on the Toon Council. _Boring._ What else was on? _Chad and Jimmy_? Nah, Johnny already saw the whole first season over 500 times when he was younger. Johnny had heard rumors, however, that the creator would be bringing it back. _Hah, what could he do? It's still a little kid's show anyways,_ Johnny laughed to himself. What else... _Big Beans_? Too gimmicky, and some are a scam; game shows in general were, anyway. They'd give you the prize money if you won (which already is an impossibly difficult feat), but most of it would have to paid back to the Toon Council, _the greedy little robber barons_. _Why should I? I earned it all!_ Johnny was losing interest now.

He decided flip back to the news; nothing interesting was on anyway, and he had nothing better to do. Maybe they would cover another story like the giant air conditioner that caused the snow that covered every inch of The Brrrgh. He didn't believe it, of course, but it was good entertainment nonetheless.

There was an introductory graphic with a typical fanfare common of news channels recently, for a news channel called _ToontownTVFromABC_. _What a long name, who will ever remember even half of that?_ Johnny criticized. As the graphic finished it's shine across the screen, there was a baritone voice you'd expect to find in movie trailers.

"This is _ToontownTVFromABC_ , your source for action-packed news." The voice had a menacing undertone, yet it was quite cheesy, like most movie trailer VOs were.

 _Huh! Action-packed my backside. The only "action" we get around here is the occasional lunatic getting arrested saying he can get you unlimited amounts of jellybeans._

The camera showed an overhead shot of two reporters in formal evening wear at a table, notes in hand. One was an orange dog with a bump on his head showing around, the other a blue cat, her green eyes captivating Johnny. The camera panned to an eye-level shot of the reporters, giving Johnny a better look at the blue cat's eyes; like miniature emeralds trapped inside a layer of egg whites. The orange dog began to speak.

"Good evening, I'm John Starr." The orange dog spoke first, his voice suggesting he's an older teenager, possibly an intern.

"And I'm Anna Dunn." The blue cat spoke next, her more mature voice like honey; she was really cut out for this job, with a dialect like that.

"Our top story: Doctor Surlee will finally be making his first public appearance at the Elections after five years of self-imposed shut-in..." Anna's report faded, as Johnny phased out. He had heard the professor's name before... suddenly, he remembered something.

He remembered a blinding bloody light, the crash of scattering papers, and a conflicting white light; and most importantly, the muscular, bipedal, two-faced figure drawn on blue paper. He had broken into what he assumed was Surlee's house five years ago. This was the same Doctor Surlee that Johnny had remembered! Shaking his head to try and clear away his delirium, he focused on the television screen to hear what else Anna was saying.

"We have obtained a TTABC _exclusive_ interview with the daffy doctor. Our reporter, Bobby Button, has more. Bobby?" Johnny was now on the edge of his seat; he would finally see the professor's face!

"Thanks, Anna." The reporter was a lanky brown horse, who had not formal evening wear on, but a company hoodie, work jeans, and white sneakers. He looked more like a person off the street who was handed a microphone and told to start an interview than an actual, professional reporter.

"I'm standing here with Doctor Surlee, who has-" Just as the reporter was moving towards what was presumably Doctor Surlee's figure, the television screen fizzled out to black, taking what contours of the professor's face Johnny could see with it. No. Did the doodle chew the cables behind the TV _again?_ No, the wires were fine, and there were no doodle foot imprints in the carpet. Then what...?

"Johnny! For the last time! Fold your laundry and put it away!" A once pretty voice now chipping away with age sounded behind him. As he turned, he recognized Mother, her feathery hair disheveled after doing household chores for most of the day, and in her gloved hands was a basket of clothes, and sandwiched between one of them and the basket was what looked like a remote- no. He was so close to finally solving a childhood mystery, and he was foiled by pairs of his own underwear. Not even Purrlock Holmes could've seen that coming. Mother set down the basket.

"That's enough TV for you, anyway. Now fold this laundry and put it away, or else I'm going to have you wear your kiddie clothes from the attic for the rest of you being in this house!"

While he was having a temper tantrum in his head, Johnny could only sigh in the waking world, and disdainfully agreed. He was so close, yet so far. It was like he was about to find something history-changing, but his work was ruined forever by accidentally spilling ink over it.

When Johnny finally finished folding his laundry, it was an hour later, and the interview would be long over by now. He was kicking himself for not remembering to fold his laundry earlier, and he missed a once in a lifetime chance. But no matter, he had a backup plan; he would go directly to Surlee himself. How? He'd go to the Elections; Surlee was scheduled to be there anyway. Thankfully, it wasn't an event like a concert that required a ticket; it was a time of public celebration that decided the new leader. No fee would be required to see the new President of Toontown. Besides, if he missed it, the event would be on TV anyway.

Now all that was left was to wait 'til morning. Johnny set the basket down on the floor, and got into bed, pulling the covers over his head.

The grounds of Toontown Central were more packed than Johnny could ever remember. There were Toons of all species, colors, and genders here; he hadn't seen such diversity in color since 10th grade art class. And the sheer number of people here amazed Johnny; there had to be at least 1,000 people crowded in this one spot. That shattered the previous record of 100, where there was a marathon held to raise awareness for the 50th anniversary of the founding of Toontown Central. Then again, this was a historic event; after the loss of the previous President, Mickey Mouse, there was so much panic that even the Toon Council forgot to make plans for a new President. Simply put, nobody knew what to do. Unlike them, however, Johnny knew what to do; he was going to find Doctor Surlee and ask him what the meaning of the dream was.

Johnny moved his way towards the front of the crowd, up on the raised plaza. Something seemed to be in the way of Toon Hall; no wonder people were herded around this area. From what he could see, there was a rope fence surrounding a raised platform with a podium that had many microphones (although one was replaced with an ice cream cone, oddly); where the inaugurator would most likely be standing. On either side of the platform, there were two counters; one red and one blue, for the Repuglican and Democat parties, respectively. The most prominent feature, though, was the giant, floating screen that hovered above the platform via a propeller on the top. Right now, static filled what would normally be black, possibly because the event hadn't started yet.

Johnny looked around for anyone who looked like he could be a professor. Be it he wore glasses, a lab coat, or whatever. Someone who looked smart. Scratch the glasses; just the lab coat. Some regular people wear glasses nowadays, and it's a bad stereotype...

Suddenly, the doors from Toon Hall opened. The event was about to start! Johnny supposed he could find the professor after the event. Who walked out of the doors were not only the candidates, Slappy Quackintosh (a green duck) and Flippy Doggenbottom (a blue dog), but a tall, red cat, possibly the inaugurator. Flippy went to the right side of the stage, Slappy took left, and the red cat took center, walking up to the podium in a slightly hesitant way. There was brief feedback as he adjusted one of the many microphones, and waited for it to pass before speaking.

"Helloooo, Toontown!" The red cat finally spoke, in a voice you'd expect most game show hosts to put on before saying a contestant's won a new car. "As many of you know, I'm your hilarious host and eccentric elector: Alec Tinn! And of course, we can't forget about our two _toonerific_ Toons who have been selected to fight for the Presidency..." Alec turned to Slappy.

"Slappy Quackintosh..." Alec said as Slappy waved to the crowd, then turned to Flippy.

"...and Flippy Doggenbottom!" Flippy seemed stone cold, almost like a statue. Even his face showed little emotion. Alec then turned to face the audience again. "I must say, this turnout is absolutely, positively, extra-tooneriffically astounding! It's truly an honor to be here on this day, and I'm sure I speak for all of us when I thank you for coming. Now, the votes are almost ready to be tallied! Flippy, Slappy, do either of you have anything to say before the moment of truth?" Slappy seemed eager to speak, so he took his chance. He appeared to be speaking in a more British accent, which surprised Johnny. He hadn't expected Slappy to be from that area, but it was more of a cosmetic thing.

"The only thing I have to say, no matter who wins... I know that Toontown is going to grow to be even more... "Toontastic" than ever before. All of you are truer-than-truly the best!" Johnny assumed 'all of you' would be his voters, and not the whole of Toontown. Slappy stepped back, allowing Flippy to voice his side. As soon as he stepped back, though, Flippy's face seemed to flood with color; as if he had woken up from a coma and was overjoyed to see everybody again. Although... he seemed _too_ happy. Just a second ago he was emotionless as a pet rock, now it looked like he could run up and kiss Slappy if he wanted to (which probably wouldn't happen).

"Like Slappy said, I can't even begin to thank all of you Toontastic Toons for this. Even after all of this terrific time together, I'm still speechless that I'm here today. Here's to Toontown, Slappy, and all of you!" Flippy stepped back.

 _What a phoney. He doesn't care about Slappy, or Toontown... not with an attitude like that. I'm glad I voted for Slappy._ Johnny crossed his arms.

"Well said, the both of you!" Alec resumed his role at the stand. Ooh, I'm just _jittering_ with excitement. Are you Toons ready to hear the winners?" Almost immediately there was a thunderous cry of "Yes!" from the Toons surrounding Johnny, which almost blew his ears out. Now was the moment of truth. "Then without further ado, it is now time to start the _Grand Electoral Counters!_ " There was a snare drumroll from somewhere behind the podium (possibly Alec playing a CD), and the counters behind each candidate started to move. Now, Johnny had to brainstorm on the pros and cons of who were to become President.

Slappy was Johnny's choice. Repuglicans were Johnny's choice no matter what; they would bring about change for all Toons, not just a minority. Slappy, in general, was a very likeable Toon. He actually showed heart and feeling, and genuine compassion for his fellow Toons. And, he was a duck like Johnny; he had emigrated from Duckburg with his family in search of a new life in Toontown. However, Slappy seemed like the kind of Toon that would say "Okay, what now?" after getting elected; like a publicity stunt gone wrong. _Good thing Donald Frump wasn't nominated... he'd be the exact same, just more irritating._

Flippy, meanwhile, was the sensible choice for the not-so-sensible. Democats worked with the minority, and not all Toons, which irked Johnny deeply. However, Flippy came from a long line of politicians; his grandfather, Friedrich Doggenbottom, issued a policy that allowed emigration from anywhere outside Toontown, be it Duckburg, Looneyland, anywhere, and Donald's Dock was the place to do it. On the downside, Flippy, in general, seemed never to crack a smile in a normal situation; he'd, however, put on an act whenever a microphone and an audience was thrust in front of his face, and people fell for it. Whatever happened, Johnny begged the Artist that Slappy would be the winner.

"And the winner is..." The counters shrunk and sprung back to their original size multiple times, as the numbers seemed to suggest one thing one microsecond and another the next. Suddenly, they rolled to a stop, and the numbers picked out a clear winner. The crowd erupted in an outburst of celebration; cheers from everywhere around Johnny boomed, his already ringing eardrums getting another call on the line. "Well, there you have it. The new President of the Toon Council..."

 **5,131 - 4,821.** Slappy had won.

"Slappyyy... Quackintosh!" Alec put on the game show host voice again; looks like Slappy won a brand new car. Slappy's eyes wide, he had his gloved hands to his mouth, and then started to dance with happiness.

"Holy smokes, I don't even know where to begin! I know without any doubt that I hereby accept my duty as your President, and will presently preside with full Presidential priorities of this Presidentliness! I will ensure-" Suddenly, a brown suited figure with a huge, unmoving smile and a balding hairline hovered down via a propeller attached on its head. _What the...?_

"Uhh..." Even Slappy was dumbstruck. Flippy still looked emotionless, although his expression betrayed the slightest hint of surprise. Alec was frozen in place, his expression quite funny for someone who was trembling in shock.

"Wha- what is that...?" Alec's teeth were chattering slightly.

Slappy approached the edge of the platform, and jumped down, turning to face the figure.

"Err... hey there, fella!" Slappy's nervous laughter suggested he was a bit cowardly, but no matter. What _was_ that thing? It almost looked like a Toon, just with exaggerated features... wait, could it be...?

"My name is Slappy, the newly elected President of the Toon Council in this Toonerrific town."

"President, you say? Just the Toon I need to speak with." The figure spoke, it's speech almost... robotic. The pieces of the puzzle were now there, but would they assemble into what Johnny thought was... _them?_ Slappy seemed to be more confident now, almost in humorous disbelief of what was in front of his face.

"Boy, that's some propeller you have there! You know it looks a lot like the one on that TV."

"Yes. Now as I began to-"

"Ooh, and the suit, too. Where did you come from, anyway? It can't be Loony Labs, they're off today."

"See here, Toon. I am-"

"No, don't tell me. Let me guess. Errr... Montana. Final answer. No, no, nevermind, they wouldn't have that fancy of a suit there. Hrmm..."

" _STOP!_ " That did the trick; Slappy shut his beak. "I like your lingo, Toon. You know how to schmooze. However, you seem to need a sample of our _Positive Reinforcement._ " The figure pulled out what looked like a... _revolver!_ One explosive shot of green goo was all that rung across the empty air of Toontown Central, and Slappy was thunderstruck. Staggering backwards, a crater formed around Slappy's chest, rapidly growing, and, in a puff of lime green smoke, was gone just like that, an audible _pop_ confirming it. The crowd started to scream and run away in terror, Slappy's possible death ingrained in their now PTSD-riddled minds. The ones who _did_ stay were frozen in terror.

"Slappy, _no!_ " Flippy cried out, now looking genuinely terrified.

"Oh my goodness- he...! No. Nonono, no. This isn't happening..." Were the last words of Alec Tinn before he quickly crouched down to hide behind his podium. A scaredy-cat, who knew?

Johnny knew. This proved that his dream was more than a dream. It was real. He had unwillingly predicted the future without even knowing. The robot, the Positive Reinforcement... Surlee! He had completely forgotten about Surlee the whole time! How could he find him now, though? It was like finding a sheep that was ever-so-slightly grayer in a flock of pure-white sheep. And knowing his dream, the professor was _killed_. It would prove to be virtually impossible, but Johnny was up for the challenge- wait, there!

An orange monkey with a white lab coat, sienna shorts, a blue undershirt with a green tie, holding a clipboard. That had to be him! Nobody else that was a professor was scheduled to be here that Johnny knew, and that monkey fit Surlee's possible profile to a T. _That was easy._ Johnny ran to him, already almost out of breath due to the breathtaking spectacle that was Slappy's possible death.

" _What have you done?!_ " Johnny could hear Flippy scream as he ran.

"Surlee!" Johnny blurted out, and crashed into a muscular bodyguard, a tall, brown bear.

"Sorry, kid! No getting to him!" The bodyguard huffily said, his arms crossed. _Dammit._ _So close._ "Hey, what's Flippy doing?" The bodyguard's idle words prompted Johnny to look back at the platform. Flippy was now level with the rest of the audience on the floor, facing the Yesman head on.

"Where did you send him?! Where is he?!" Flippy was desperate now, he was trying to shake the robot by the collar of its suit, but to no avail. "What... what _are_ you...?"

"I don't like your tone. Perhaps you need a sample of _Positive Reinforcement_ as well." The robot walked towards Flippy, revolver in hand, making him step back in nervousness.

"No, no! Get away! I don't need your help!" Flippy had his arms up to try and defend himself.

"Let me confirm our meeting to discuss this. I won't take 'no' for an answer." The robot was still walking towards Flippy, about to corner him.

"Stop it! This isn't fun!" Flippy seemed about to cry; for a grown dog that was a Presidential candidate, it seemed quite humiliating. Although, to be fair, he was one shot away from instant death.

"Fun cannot exist without _order._ " The robot had the revolver aimed at Flippy's chest now. Flippy noticed a pie on an adjacent table, and took it, aiming it at the robot in retaliation.

"I'm warning you, stay back! ... Please." Even for someone who seemed about to die, at least he had manners before he did. _But why a pie? Wouldn't it just splatter on the robot's face and it would just wipe the cream off, then fire the fatal shot?_

"Don't worry, I haven't been wrong yet." The robot appeared to be laughing, just in a monotone voice that his programming allowed. The revolver's hammer was clicked down; the robot was about to fire!

" _Stay AWAY from me!_ " Flippy's roar was bloodcurdling, although the pie flung into the robot's face was less noticeable. For a bakery product, it had the knockback of a 50 pound weight, making the robot stagger backwards. The tie insignia on its chest changed into a flashing red circle, which was an odd feature. Suddenly, the robot began to laugh, but not in a monotone way, but in a... Toony way. It bent down, not able to control its mirth. Suddenly, it began flailing its arms wildly, in a helicopter-like motion, laughing like a madman. A gear or two began to fly from exposed parts of the suit. Its head began to squish down, like the opposite of a rubber band being stretched... Johnny suddenly knew what was happening; it was going to explode!

"Flippy! _Get down!_ " The bodyguard dived over the ropes and onto Flippy, shielding him. The orange yet slightly purple (oddly) fireball vaporized the parts, and was about the same size as the robot. Surprisingly, it didn't go very far outwards; it dissipated almost instantly, saving both the bodyguard and Flippy from being treated for burns. The bodyguard got up, helping Flippy get up as well.

"Everyone, listen, there's no time!" Surlee spoke up for the first time, somewhat confident yet there was an unmistakable waver in his voice. "Grab the pies from Flippy's campaign stands! They seem to be the weakness of these..." Surlee looked around for something to call the robot. He found a gear laying at his feet.

"... Cogs. Now take up arms, there's more on the way!" Surlee seemed to know about the Cogs invading... _But how? Sure, he might've created the plans for one, but that doesn't mean he's behind the assassination of Slappy... is he?_ Johnny's brooding would have to wait; his attention was taken by the sudden shadow that was cast across the playground, and the sound of helicopters. Although, the S.W.A.T. (Silliest Wisecracks and Tricks) team only had land vehicles. Then what...?

Then he saw it. The airborne army. Hundreds of Cogs of different shapes and sizes hovering in from different directions onto the grounds. This was real life, and it wasn't a dream.

 _Take up arms._ Surlee's words rang in Johnny's ears; it was time. It was time to face his fears. He quickly found a campaign stand with Flippy's face plastered on it, the pies on it smelled delicious. This was no time for a sugary feast, however; save that for the end of the war. He packed ten pies in a bottomless sack, and went off, suddenly stared down by a giant bird-looking Cog with a gray suit. So much for facing fears; the heat of battle scared Johnny, and tried to avoid as much as he could. He thought he could hear a whistling noise through the air, and went to investigate.

It appeared to be coming from a tunnel that went to Punchline Place, the street that connected Donald's Dock and Toontown Central. Whatever happened, Johnny knew he had the Artist on his side; He had made Slappy win, after all. After walking past several closed shops, Johnny could see it; a totally gray building that appeared to be shaped like a tie; its eyes near the neck looking down in a menacing way. A Cog building. But this is where Dr. Pulyurleg's chiropractic office was supposed to be!

 _Who knew that Cogs could hijack our buildings just to put their own right on top? Not in my town, you don't._ Johnny pulled up his sleeve a bit, and ran to the façade of the building. He could see an athletic-looking blue cat in white gym shorts, a white and blue pinstripe tanktop (a darker blue outlined number 19 emblazoned on the back), white tennis shoes, and a white and blue baseball cap, hanging around by the building's elevator that seemed to go to the different floors. _A multi-instrumentalist. Interesting._

The cat seemed to notice Johnny approaching, and waved. Looks like social interaction would have to be implemented.

"Hey." Johnny huffed.

"Hey." The cat replied, his slight baritone voice giving very little clues on his age. "You noticed the whistling too?" Johnny was surprised, but then thought the whistling must've echoed across town. He nodded.

"Yeah. Did you see what happened?"

"The apocalypse? Of course; I saw it on TV. I don't live too far from there, and I was on my way to help fight them off when I heard this whistling from the sky. Almost sounded like a bomb!" Making a diving gesture with his gloved paw, the cat imitated the whistling, and made an explosion noise, which amused Johnny. Perhaps being social wasn't so bad after all.

"Yeah, I was wondering what it was too, so I came here." Johnny paused for a second, trying to think of what else to say. "You think there's Cogs in there?" He asked. The cat tilted his head, confused.

"Cogs? What are those?" No matter. Johnny would explain.

"They're the robots you saw on TV. The ones with the propellers on their heads." That seemed to strike a match in the cat's head.

"Oh, yeah! Those. Hmm, maybe; this building doesn't seem very fun, just like them." Johnny looked in the elevator. The tie insignia was on the back wall, and there seemed to be enough space to fill four Toons cozily inside the elevator. _What if..._

"We should find a couple other Toons to take this on. We can't just let it sit here forever." Johnny suggested.

"That could work. Although, where, do you suggest, we find these Toons?" The cat crossed his arms. _Crap. I haven't thought of that._

"Uh..." Johnny had his pointing finger up to counter, but then put it back down. "Good point." They stood for a while, thinking of possible places they could find other Toons. Then the cat spoke up.

"Should we duo it?" Johnny was taken aback by his offer, but then thought about it more. _If we duoed, then we wouldn't have to wait. Although, if it was just the two of us, then that makes us weaker than if it was four of us..._ Then Johnny noticed the cat in the elevator.

"Thirty seconds to second floor." An automated female voice sounded.

"Better get on, rubber ducky!" The cat teased. _Dammit! Why wouldn't you wait?_ Johnny nervously searched the street, longing for someone else to come along, but reluctantly thought better of it. He sighed in resignation.

"I'm coming, geez." Johnny quickly shuffled on next to the cat. "I have a name too, you know." He crossed his arms. The cat just chuckled.

"Sure. And what would your name be, rubber ducky?"

"Johnny Featherton. How about you?"

"Omicron Aquarius." Johnny turned his head, eyebrow raised in a skeptical matter. "Oh, uh… some people get confused when they hear my name, so... sorry." _Hell, no wonder. I'd be confused myself if I had that name._

"Ascending to second floor. Have a nice day." The automated voice sounded again. Her sweet, almost hard-to-hear voice contrasted the shutting of the doors, however. They shut almost instantly, creating a massive _slam_ noise that almost deafened Johnny, and the light that was outside the elevator was quickly taken away, blinding Johnny and Omicron. The elevator shot upwards (along with Johnny and Omicron) but then quickly went back down, this time going up at a slower pace.

Virtually blind, almost deaf, and reeling with dizziness on the floor. Whatever this Cog building had to offer, it most certainly wouldn't end well for both parties.


	3. Chapter 2 - Building Friendships

_"Second floor. Have a nice day."_

Johnny was still reeling from the shock of landing on the cold, solid steel floor of the elevator; the metal sound still ringing throughout the elevator, or was it just Johnny's ears? Only now did Johnny realize there was a faint light jazz tune being played in the elevator, over crackly speakers. _Looks like the Cogs wanted to play this off better than it actually is,_ Johnny thought cynically, rubbing his throbbing head.

The doors opened, shedding harsh white light. As the light dimmed through the adjusting of eyes, the doors revealed a spacious gray interior, barren except for the elevator on the other side of the room, its doors hiding away its exposed nature. Johnny walked in, taking it all in.

"Ugh... where are we?" Omicron groaned as he rose, clutching his forehead. His baseball cap was on the floor, which he also noticed, picking it up and placing it back upon his furry head. To be honest, Johnny had forgotten Omicron had been traveling with him; then again, he had forgotten he went in the building to begin with. This was a leap of faith that Omicron had forcefully lassoed and hogtied Johnny into, and if they both died from this, then both of them would know whose fault it was.

"We're in your mess, idiot." Johnny shot him an indignant look as Omicron walked in to join him, to which Omicron laughed off, his eyes brightening up.

"Nah, it's all good. This is a new adventure! I haven't had this much excitement in _years_!" Omicron slapped his hand on Johnny's shoulder. "And, looking at _you,_ rubber ducky, you look like you haven't had excitement in a long time, either." At least that statement was true. For years, Johnny exponentially grew bored of what was on TV, what the news had to say; basically, he was bored of being a Toon. Nobody knew how to get to him, and that bored Johnny even more. Although, was it... sadness? Johnny frequently got the two words mixed up.

"I suppose. I also suppose this is why you wanted to run in here like a madman; for a rapid heartbeat. Am I right or am I right?" Johnny crossed his arms, eyebrow raised.

"Ah, you gotta let go of the diamond-encrusted, tea-sippin' by the fireside lifestyle. Get some dirt on your feet and live life on the edge a little. That's what I did, and I'm happy."

"You were rich?" Johnny was surprised at the mention of diamonds being a part of Omicron's former lifestyle. Was he on the Furbes Top 100?

"Well, not really," Omicron shrugged, slightly disappointing Johnny. "My dad owned a small company, a shoe business, and my mom stayed at home. Long story short, we ended up having to close it down, and now we're living off the funds he made there. I kinda miss the smell of the leather." Johnny could see a note of wistfulness in Omicron's eyes, along with a hint of a grimace. Looks like Omicron knew firsthand what a blue-collar lifestyle was like, something Johnny had always respected, unlike him being born into a rich family, which felt like cheating.

Johnny noticed the room was still silent, and the elevator on the far side of the room still had not opened. What was supposed to happen?

"Uh..." Omicron looked at Johnny dumbfoundedly, his gaze following Johnny's. Then Omicron realized what he was looking at, and let out a small "oh" of clarity.

As if the elevator had heard him, there was an audible _ding_ , and the elevator doors opened, a brown suited figure walking out. It had the same physique as the robot from the Elections: same balding hairline, same muscularity, same giant, unmoving smile that, looking at it closer up, freaked Johnny out. Yet it seemed distracted, which might be opportune.

"Oh." Omicron sounded in a more disagreeable tone.

The way it's twin talked at the Elections sounded almost like those yesmen you heard about in businesses... wait, that's the perfect name for it! Snapping back to reality, Johnny looked back at the Cog. The Yesman seemed startled at the sight of Toons in the building, and so readied itself. The elevator closed behind it.

"Hah, you ready for a fight or something? Or no?" Omicron taunted.

"I don't know the meaning of no." The Yesman droned, confirming its identity. Then a brick wall hit Johnny: _what if the Yesman had a revolver like the other one?_ They'd be dead on the spot. But then, he noticed that there was nothing in the robot's hands, and there was no kind of holster to hold the firearm; _oh, what a relief._ But an aftershock stumbled in: how would the robot be beaten?

Suddenly, Johnny remembered how the robot would be beaten: pies. He had seen Flippy throwing one of these creamy cakes at the exact kind of Cog at the Elections, but wondered how it would have the knockback it did. _Must've been a hard throw,_ Johnny reasoned. Then Johnny remembered the bag of pies he had brought. He looked around for it, and noticed it was still in the elevator they came in from. There was another _ding_ , and the doors began to close. He would lose the bag! Sprinting, he got to the bag, but just barely got it out as the doors closed.

 _Take up arms._ Surlee's words still rung in Johnny's ears, making him a little dizzy. He ran back to Omicron, and pulled a pie out of the bag.

"Here, throw this." Johnny blurted out, out of breath, throwing a pie to Omicron, briefly puzzled but then got the message. Pulling back with his arm, Omicron launched the pie at the Yesman's face. It landed with a surprising force, any more and the robot's head would've come clean off. _No wonder this guy is athletic,_ Johnny thought, impressed. The robot staggered backwards, and bent forwards, the tie insignia on the suit flashing red. This time, Johnny instantly knew what was happening, but doubted Omicron knew the same.

"Get down!" Johnny shouted to Omicron over the intense echo of the robot's hydraulics being worked to the core and the glissando of maniacal, toony laughter. Almost belly flopping, Johnny covered his head as he lay face down on the floor, Omicron imitating after a bit of confusion.

The robot's head squashed, and briefly stretched before rocketing upwards towards the ceiling. The body soon followed, propelled by a scorching fireball, but not upwards; outwards, and towards the two Toons. The torso just barely missed Omicron's long, furry tail, and slightly disturbed the feathers on Johnny's leg. It landed behind them with a massive _clang_ , distastefully reminding Johnny of his elevator escapade earlier.

Several moments passed before either Toon spoke, still shaking from their near-death experience.

"Is... is it over?" Omicron wavered, his teeth slightly chattering. Johnny looked up: flames licked at the floor where the Cog was standing, and scattered metallic debris lay around the room. The elevator opened, but no Cogs came out.

"Yeah, it's over, I think... wait." Johnny noticed that there were two dots on top of the elevator, one that was displaying a white light, the other was blank. Did that mean there were two floors to this building? That means they conquered the first floor! Johnny picked up the bag of pies, and walked into the open elevator.

"I think there's more. C'mon." Johnny motioned Omicron over, who did so. Suddenly, Omicron looked nervous.

"Wait, I forgot something!" He looked around the elevator, and it made Johnny's heart fall. Then he noticed the smug look on Omicron's face- oh. _Either that was a very bad impression of me or he's just messing with me. Probably both._

"Haha, very funny." Johnny remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Ascending to third floor. Have a nice day." The elevator PA announced in her sweet, slightly computerized voice.

The doors slammed shut, reminding Johnny of the _clang_ that he had heard just a couple of minutes ago. This time, Johnny and Omicron were not cloaked in darkness, but rather bathed in a soft, yellow light from a fluorescent rod that was installed in the ceiling. Already, Johnny could tell this was going to be a much smoother ride than before. Did they ride in a service elevator before? _But it was literally the building's front door..._ Ah, no matter.

The ride was a bit slower than the last time, which relieved Johnny, but soon there was an air of stillness, apart from the hum of the elevator, just waiting to be broken by awkward conversation.

"So, uh..." Johnny decided to break it, knowing full well that he didn't have a topic in his head. "Tuesday's coming."

"Yeah." Omicron replied nonchalantly, hands in his pockets.

"It's gonna be a bit colder than usual, might wanna get a coat."

"I'll be prepared, don't worry."

The doors opened with a _ding,_ revealing a grand penthouse, with two sets of stairs descending down. Two statues of Cogs sat proudly on the tops of each one, one skinny, tall Cog, the other a stocky, fat one.

That wasn't what caught Johnny's eye, however. What caught Johnny's eye was the large, muscular Cog, whose head was so small that it seemed even it's foot was bigger, yet it still seemed seething. Two others flanked it, both short, stocky Cogs with a frown and oversized blue-lensed glasses.

As the two Toons ran out to face them, they noticed the elevator closing behind them, much quicker than before. _Geez, if the elevator had closed that fast before, we'd be screwed._ Looking at the Cog with the small head again, Johnny didn't think he was threatening, but rather quite funny.

"Hah, don't get _ahead_ of yourself, mister!" Johnny decided to follow in Omicron's footsteps; it felt like a weight off his chest. Maybe he should stop being serious all the time? _It'd probably make Omicron happy._ Looking at Omicron in the meantime, he seemed to approve, giggling to himself. The taunt seemed to hit close to home with the Cog, prompting Johnny to call it a _head hunter_.

"I'll have your head for this!" The Head Hunter shook a fist.

Johnny and Omicron wasted no time in flinging a pie each at the two frame-donning Cogs, removing the Head Hunter's bodyguard rejects. As Johnny and Omicron took cover, Johnny noticed that as they exploded, the flames from the explosions didn't seem to phase the Head Hunter one bit. _So they're immune to fire, but not immune to laughter? Very strange..._

Johnny's brooding was interrupted by an attack from the Head Hunter.

"Heads up! Or should I say, down?" The Head Hunter wiggled its fingers, emitting a trail of yellow sparkles from each hand, towards Omicron! Omicron desperately tried to get out of the way, but he was still getting up from his belly-down position, and Johnny saw the sparkles wrap around his head. Omicron grunted in pain as his head shrunk, almost down to the size of a cupcake. He shook his head to try and defy the sparkles, which miraculously worked.

With Omicron briefly stunned, Johnny took it upon himself to throw his next pie, which proved to be a difficult task; with a head as small as that, it'd be like trying to shoot a pincushion with a very small pin. He tried anyway, and was very close, but the Cog dodged to the right, making Johnny curse in frustration. The Head Hunter sidled back to it's original position, and proceeded to attack again.

"Here's a kink: have some ink." The Head Hunter pulled out what looked like a fountain pen, clicked it open, and sprayed ink towards Johnny. Unlike Omicron, Johnny dived out of the way, landing on his back. In a flash, Johnny got up and leapt for the bag, taking a pie, and throwing it, this time with pinpoint accuracy. Omicron followed suit, just not in as dramatic a fashion. Both pies landed on their target gracefully, although the same could not be said for the Head Hunter's head being knocked off. _I knew it! I knew it was possible!_ Johnny celebrated in his head. Taking cover with Omicron, he painfully noticed that the fireball was much bigger, and it singed his feathers a bit.

Getting up, he noticed that there was a tiny flame on Omicron's hat. Not wanting roasted cat for dinner, Johnny hastily put a finger on it to put it out, a sizzle escaping before it died. Omicron didn't seem to notice at first, but then seemed thankful.

"T-minus 30 seconds until building vaporization." The computerized PA announced, the elevator doors in front of them opening. The building started to shake, was there an earthquake?! _Building vaporization..._ did that mean they were going to fall if they didn't escape?

"Come on! No time to lose!" Johnny ran to the elevator, dragging Omicron with one hand and hefting the pie bag with the other. When they were in the elevator, the doors shut slower than before, adding to the already sky-high tension. The light that was in the elevator shut off, returning the confined space to darkness.

What was not expected was the freefall that ensued. One moment Johnny and Omicron were standing upright in the elevator, the next they were on top of the ceiling screaming. The sound of rushing air creeped in through the crack in between the doors, almost turning it into one of those indoor skydiving places.

Then, just like that, it was over, although endings like these usually come to a very hard stop. Very hard was the exact way to describe the floor, for the cold steel could've shattered even concrete. Thanks to Toon anatomy, however, their rubber bones allowed Johnny and Omicron to spring back up without being implanted into the floor (nor get bones shattered), albeit it was still _very_ painful. So painful, in fact, Johnny couldn't even move without a fresh sense of hurt.

"Ugh... good grief." Omicron groaned, slowly lumbering himself up.

The doors to the elevator opened, the harsh contrast of the sunlight outside and artificial light inside making itself clear, also making Johnny squint.

Getting up was probably the biggest challenge of the entire building; it was like trying to move with your entire body being made of cement. But, Johnny miraculously got up, like if Stephen Hawk-Ng suddenly wasn't paralyzed anymore. Johnny sighed.

"That wasn't so bad." Omicron seemed happy to hear that, and slapped him on the shoulder.

"See? What'd I tell you? I think you'll find rapid heartbeats, as you said, to be quite fun." Johnny could see that now; it felt quite exhilarating to finally have some excitement in life, although it felt a bit strange at the same time.

"Now beginning building vaporization. Goodbye." The sweet PA voice sounded one more time, before the the Cog building started to squash and stretch, making wacky noises in doing so. As the building faded away, the Toony building sprung up, in a breath of fresh air. _Finally! No more gray!_ Johnny thought triumphantly.

Although, another scary thought entered Johnny's mind. _If Cogs can take over buildings, this was just one. There must be hundreds more in trouble!_ _We'd need coordination and critical thinking..._ wait, that's it! The solution to the Cog building problem!

Johnny had a childhood friend named Joseph Dandysqueak, a transfer student from Chezia (a city in Toontown like Duckburg for mice), whom he had met back in kindergarten. Thinking now, he might still live around here in Toontown Central. Last time Johnny had seen him, though, he was working for Loony Labs, under the moniker Prof. Beppo. Johnny used to always call him Joey, but Joseph would always get confused with Sir Max, the Speaker of the Funhouse, whose nickname was also Joey to the public.

"I have an idea." Johnny blurted out, surprising Omicron. He shrugged, going along with it. "We need somebody smart to figure out a plan, right?"

"We're smart ourselves, though." Omicron crossed his arms.

"True, but three is better than two. I have a friend I know over on Punchline Place, near the border of Donald's Dock. He's a scientist for Loony Labs, and with our heads put together, we could really bring down the threat of these Cogs. You in?"

Omicron looked thoughtful for a moment, and shrugged again.

"I mean, I don't really have anything else going on, so... I'm in." That sent Johnny's heart soaring, excited for things to actually come into play.

"Great! I _think_ I still remember his address." Johnny wasted no time in getting a move on, which made Omicron run to try and catch up.

Coming up on a relatively well-kept house with a brown wooded façade, Johnny reckoned this must've been the place. Going up to the door, he knocked thrice, after locating the absence of a doorbell. He waited for a bit before the door opened. He was greeted by a stocky, scruffy periwinkle mouse about Johnny's height who looked much older than Joseph. His clothing appeared quite tattered, which discouraged Johnny, as Joseph had come from a decently well-off family. He had never met Joseph's father, but something about him seemed familiar.

"Er, hi, sir, uh... is Joseph there?" Johnny meekly inquired. The mouse looked between Johnny and Omicron several times. When he looked at Johnny again, he seemed to recognize him.

"Eh... he's downstairs. Joseph!" The mouse, presumably Joseph's father, called behind his back, a heavy accent distorting his words. "Friends are here to see you!"

"In a minute, papa-" A slightly annoyed voice was briefly interrupted by silence, and then the crashing of shattering glass (followed by a curse) and what sounded like moving furniture. A door opened squeakily from somewhere behind the mouse, and slammed shut. There was a faint sound of someone running up the stairs.

"Who's here? Nobody _ever_ comes to see me." The slightly out of breath voice was much closer, this time wavering a bit with excitement.

"See here." The older mouse moved out of the way, giving Johnny a view of his old friend.

Joseph was a periwinkle mouse that looked a bit like his father: stocky, a bit chubby around the belly, but still had at least a _little_ muscle definition on him. He wore rimless wayfarer glasses, behind them sparkling ice blue eyes. His hair didn't match his fur, oddly enough: it was sandy brown, possibly a bleach and dye, and was cut in a swoop to the side, a popular style that Johnny could somewhat see in the crowd back at the Elections. His orange T-shirt bore the tagline √-1 3 π, a clever mathematics joke. Completing the outfit were navy green cargo shorts, and black sandals.

"Hey, Joey." Johnny couldn't think of anything else to say, despite years of pent-up sadness at Joseph's absence. and was prepared for a witty remark from Joseph for his lack of words.

"Johnny." Did he look... disappointed? _But it's been years! I would've expected a better greeting from a cactus._

"Is something wrong?" Johnny asked, wondering if he should not have come. Then, he noticed Joseph's smug look.

"No, of course not, you big lummox." Joseph walked up to Johnny, not even noticing Omicron, and hugged him tight. Releasing, he got a closer look at Johnny. "It's good to see you again. Oh! Come down to my lab, I wanna show you something." Joseph was already on his way back to the stairwell when he was stopped by Johnny.

"Actually, before you do that, I need to ask _you_ something."

"Sure, go ahead. I know practically anything." Prof. Beppo looked a bit distracted; Johnny turned to just see Omicron.

"Oh right, before I ask you the something, this is Omicron. I met him at a Cog building."

"Hey, 'sup?" Omicron greeted, trying unsuccessfully to seem cool. Joseph, however, paid him little mind, and was staring at Johnny, a quizzical expression on his face at the mention of Cogs.

"Cog... building?" No matter, Johnny would explain.

"Okay, so, you know those robots-" Johnny was interrupted by Joseph's stammering.

"I-I know what they are, I have a TV too. But... they have their own _buildings_?" Joseph seemed quite bewildered now, his hands clutching his head.

"Yeah, that's what I wanted to ask you. There must be _hundreds_ of these things around if there's gonna be a full-scale invasion of them, and we need your help to take them down."

"B-but that'd be so dangerous! And it would take forever!" Joseph paced back and forth, but stopped abruptly. He looked back at Johnny, cold determination in his eyes.

"I'll do it." His tone sent a chill down Johnny's spine, but was quickly warmed back up by the sense of relief. However, Joseph's father (even Johnny forgot about his presence), just even from a glance at him, seemed to have another idea.

" _Giovanotto,_ may we talk somewhere quiet?" Joseph's father was trying very hard to disguise his seething expression, although Joseph seemed quite cold and calm.

"Sure, papa. Anything you wish." Joseph and his father went up the nearby staircase, and Johnny could hear a shutting of a door. Curious, Johnny went upstairs, Omicron in tow. He didn't like eavesdropping, but something didn't seem right. He wasn't even halfway to deciding which door they had gone behind before he heard yelling in a language he didn't understand, possibly Chezian.

" _Tu non vai da nessuna parte!_ " Joseph's father initiated the yelling.

" _Posso fare questo, papà!_ " Joseph retaliated, a whiny tone in his voice.

" _E 'assurdo! Lo farò prendere i tuoi amici alle loro mamme!_ "

" _Voi non si può fermare i miei amici! Andrò con loro!_ "

" _Questo è inaccettabile! Non in casa mia!_ "

" _Bene, lascerò! Non è la mia casa, comunque!_ " Joseph opened the door, startled to see Johnny and Omicron standing there, with a look of dread on their faces. He shook his head.

"It's nothing. Come on, let's go get some stuff from my lab." Joseph hurried down the staircase, Johnny and Omicron following suit. _Didn't sound like nothing..._ Johnny thought worriedly.

" _Si torna qui, giovanotto_!" Joseph's father yelled after them.

"No!" Joseph yelled back. Finally, a word Johnny could at least understand. They went down the flight of stairs that supposedly led to the lab. Joseph opened the squeaky door, allowing Johnny to go in first.

He was greeted by the smell of various chemicals, and when he looked inside, he could see why. Broken glass blanketed the floor, a mixture of fluids around the edges in different fluorescent colors creating one super color. Looking beyond that, however, he noticed a rack of familiar objects in different sections. There was even a cream pie in an orange section, much like the cream pies Johnny and Omicron had used in the Cog building. Were these weapons to fight off the Cogs?

"Be sure to not step on the glass, unless you want the Somali treatment." Joseph sidestepped around it, and walked over to the rack. _Well, I mean, we have shoes on, so..._ Johnny walked over the glass, his sneaker soles taking the brunt. Omicron wasn't sure, but did it anyway, making it to the other side.

"I'm sure you've both seen the rack by now," Joseph said, to which Johnny and Omicron nodded. "I call them _gags_. They're funny to us, and they could be even more funny to the robots."

"Cogs." Johnny corrected.

"Cogs, right." Joseph amended. "I've devised seven gag tracks, each with their own pros and cons." He pointed to the the top track, with things like lipstick and bamboo canes. _Those aren't weapons..._

"The first track is called Toon-Up. This allows us to raise our Laff points in battle." Omicron raised his paw. "Yes?"

"What are Laff points?" Omicron asked. No matter, Joseph would explain.

"Have you ever played a turn-based RPG?" Joseph inquired, to which Omicron nodded. "Okay, good. In those games, each hero has health points. We're basically the heroes in those games, and Laff points are those health points. Toon-Up gags are the potions to restore the health of your fellow Toons."

 _That makes sense,_ Johnny thought. _Still wish I had a cool sword to go along with that._ Joseph pointed to the next track, directly below the Toon-Up track.

"This is Trap. You can lure Cogs to fall in the trap you've set, but how do you do that?" He pointed to the next track below Trap.

"Lure gags, of course! I have a feeling these gags may not always work, though." Next track.

"The next track is Sound. One of my lingering hypotheses is that these can take out a group of Cogs when used together. Although, there's a _very_ rare chance that these could miss their target, due to a miniature vacuum that's created from the blowing of them, and then it dissipates. Very strange, even _I_ can't explain it." Moving on, Joseph started to cover some _very_ familiar looking gags.

"These are Throw gags-"

"We know what they are. We used them to defeat the Cog building. Throw the baked good at the Cog, real simple." Johnny interrupted Joseph, who turned from slightly annoyed to very impressed.

"Hm, okay. Anyway, these are Squirt gags." Omicron started snickering, to which Joseph gave a serious look. "What's so funny? It's just water." Joseph inquired.

"It's not that, just the word _squirt_... HAH!" Omicron guffawed, much to the chagrin of Joseph. To be honest, it _was_ quite a funny word. Clearing his throat, Joseph continued.

"Uh... as I was saying. These are..." Cautious to not have another laughter storm from Omicron, Joseph hesitated as he thought of a better word. "...'water' gags. They're similar to Throw, but it always involves something with water. Say, a seltzer bottle or a water gun." Finally, for what seemed like forever, Joseph got to the last track.

"Finally, you have Drop. You hit a button, and pray to the Artist that something heavy will land on your target." His eyes darted between the two Toons. "Any questions?" Johnny raised his hand. "Yes, Johnny?"

"How the hell did you have time to do all of this? Toontown Central got invaded only an _hour_ ago."

"I do have an IQ of 137, so that might've helped a bit. Anyway, I don't think we have any time to lose. We should pack up what we think is useful and head out. I've already spotted a peculiar building in Donald's Dock, so we can see if we can defeat it."

"Sounds good to me." Johnny walked up to the rack, taking a cream pie. He noticed that there were several lined behind each other, like you would find at a supermarket with the refrigerated doors. Taking his chance, he took a few more, but realized he had a hard time carrying them. _This is gonna be the paper incident again, only much messier,_ Johnny thought in a panic, almost dropping them. Joseph seemed to notice, and hastily went to steady the pile. Looking around, he spotted a sack lying on a table.

"Need a carry-on?" Joseph sarcastically said, handing Johnny the bag with his free hand, a glimmer of amusement dancing in his eyes. Johnny nodded, and Joseph complied by opening the bag. Johnny dropped the pies in the bag, watching as they seemed to shrink as they fell, freeing up room for many more. He noticed the way Joseph looked at him, like someone who was unsure of what to say but had a topic in their head. Were there ulterior emotions in those words? _If there are, that'd certainly be surprising._ Johnny noticed that this bag had straps, which was perfect; no need to hang it over the shoulder, just wear it like a backpack.

When the trio packed up their gags in their separate backpacks, they got a move on. They were just about to reach the front door when they were stopped in their tracks by Joseph's father. Johnny was stared down, making him gulp.

"You're not going anywhere with _mio figlo._ Go make our minestrone, _giovanotto_ , it is almost suppertime." Joseph stepped forward, cold determination in his eyes.

"No, papa. I'm tired of making you minestrone and having to put up with your constant criticism. Besides, the world is in danger, and we may be the only Toons in this world to actually stop it. Let us pass."

"No, Joseph. Don't leave me. What will I do without you?" Joseph got closer to his father, and whispered something in his ear; Johnny only just made out the words.

" _Tornerò, lo prometto._ " Joseph's father got a bit teary-eyed, a surprising sight for someone who looked tough, and nodded.

"Fine. Go." Joseph's father got out of the way, allowing Johnny to release a sigh of relief. Walking out first, he made sure that the others were following, which they were. This adventure had officially started here, and although Johnny could think of several ways they could possibly die from this, he was determined to stop the threat, no matter what it took. Even if it took the lives of his friends, or his, or all. _No, don't think of that, just keep walking…_

The walk to the Donald's Dock was surprisingly silent and quick (the tunnel was just around the corner), and Johnny got an eerie sense of forthcoming doom, but quickly shook it away. _Nobody is going to die. We will all be okay._ Johnny tried praying to the Artist in his head, but he was unsure if it actually calmed him. He knew that the Artist was on his side before in the Elections, but it might've just been an insane coincidence. _Religions like these are bound to be phony one of these days... it's like you're worshiping a_ _stone wall and expecting something in return._

"It's not far from here, it's just around the corner." Joseph said, looking at a map on a watch that Johnny didn't notice at first. What he also just now noticed was a peculiar object wrapped around his arm, which looked like a miniature version of Joseph's profile, and numbers where the pupils should be. _56/56._ What could that mean?

"Hey, Joseph." Johnny prompted.

"Yeah?"

"What's that thing on your arm? Not the watch, but your, uh... mini-me."

"Oh, this?" Joseph tapped the strange object. "This is my Laff meter. It tells me how many Laff points I have. If I ever hit zero, I'd fall into a pretty deep depression. You and Omicron have one, too. Check it out." Johnny never even noticed he had one on, and decided to check his Laff meter. _47/47._ _Darn it, you have more Laff points than me!_ Though, to be fair, Joseph was the one who invented these things in the first place.

"39/39... cool!" Omicron obviously found his Laff meter as well. "Did you invent these at Loony Labs or something?"

"Well, yes. They're still being distributed to Toons around Toontown, but it'll take a while before everyone has one. I don't like to talk about Loony Labs, by the way; I got kicked off." Kicked off? That was strange, Joseph was one of the smartest and kindest Toons Johnny knew. What had happened behind the scenes that was so drastic?

"Here we are. This is the building." Joseph's words had snapped Johnny out of his brooding, and prompted him to take his first look at the building.

He was expecting another tall, gray building like he had seen on Punchline Place, but this was much different. It was a much shorter building, but still had the prominent, glaring eyes that looked statically outwards. It also wasn't gray, but rather a dark brown with dark purple accents. _At least it isn't gray, but it's still quite dark for my tastes._ There were posters on the sides of the elevator entrance of a Cog that had a tall, cylindrical, pompadour-topped head, with a prominent smile and a thin, curly mustache. Its emblem that was emblazoned on the front of its suit was not a tie, but rather four vertical bars, one rising higher than the one before it. Was it a new type of Cog? There was a nameplate above the elevator, which read "Dime and Quarterdeck Bank, Field Office." A field office? That probably meant there's one main office somewhere, probably something _huge._

"If I die here, I have no last words. Last words are for Toons who haven't said enough." Joseph coolly said, the salty wind slightly covering his words up.

"Then, let's go." Johnny stepped in first, followed by Omicron and then Joseph.

"Welcome to the _DIME AND QUARTERDECK BANK_ Field Office. We hope you enjoy your visit." The PA voice was more manly, and the words "Dime and Quarterdeck Bank" sounded very computerized, as if a text-to-speech engine was to be used for every shop name.

"No turning back now..." Joseph ominously muttered as the doors closed, blanketing the space in darkness. Whatever new challenges awaited, Johnny still had a very strange feeling lingering in the back of his mind that something terrible was going to happen, and, judging by its intensity now compared to just a few minutes ago, it would happen very soon.


End file.
